Kia EV5 Review | Family-Friendly Electric SUV

Read Caroline’s Kia EV5 review for everything you need to know about buying Kia’s electric family SUV in Ireland.

Kia is one of Ireland’s bestselling EV brands, with both the EV3 and the EV6 being some of the country’s most popular electric cars.

Now Kia has expanded its range of EVs even further with the arrival of the new Kia EV5. The new five-seat SUV occupies a handy middle ground between the EV3 and the seven-seat EV9 in Kia’s electric SUV line-up.

The new Kia EV5 is on sale in Ireland now

Kia EV5 Design

The Kia EV5 enters a busy part of the market with well-established rivals like the Skoda Enyaq, Volkswagen ID.4 and the Tesla Model Y. But its chunky, bold styling certainly gives it an edge. It features the brand’s signature thin LED lighting, while GT Line models have sportier details such as gloss black exterior trim and larger alloy wheels.

There are three trim lines for Ireland: Earth 2, Earth 3 and GT Line. Earth 2 versions sit on 18-inch alloy wheels but everything else gets 19s.

Is the Kia EV5 bigger than the Sportage?

While similarities are likely to be drawn with Kia’s bestselling Sportage, the new EV5 is bigger and boxier overall.

Kia EV5 Interior

Inside the EV5 feels like a scaled down EV9. You sit high in the driver’s seat like a traditional SUV and the minimalist design makes it feel very airy and spacious.

It also gets the brand’s familiar three-screen layout consisting of a digital driver display, climate control panel and touchscreen. The touchscreen comes with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and is easy to use thanks to shortcut buttons and physical switches for some of the climate settings.

It all feels very solidly built, but there is quite a lot of dull grey plastic so it doesn’t feel quite as upmarket as a Skoda Enyaq for instance. But there are lots of little cubbies and places to put things, ideal for a family car.

It’s also well-equipped with even heated front and rear seats included as standard, and a heated steering wheel.

GT Line models come with a special three-spoke steering wheel, head-up display, opening panoramic sunroof and full relaxation seats for the driver and passenger.

Kia EV5 Practicality

The EV5 really excels on passenger space. There’s loads of legroom and headroom in the second row, with plenty of family-friendly features like two Isofix points, separate vents, climate control, USB-C ports and even a pull-out drawer in the centre piece.

The boot is another high point, with its large, square design, two-position boot floor and even a three-pin socket. A powered tailgate is also standard across the range. Kia has even squeezed in a storage compartment under the bonnet for the charging cables.

What is the range of the Kia EV5?

There’s one battery available with an 81.4kWh capacity (78kWh usable). All trim lines come with a heat pump. The Earth 2 is the most efficient, offering up to 530km range (WLTP). The GT Line we tested offers less (up to 505km) because of the different alloy wheel size and design.

During my cold weather test, average consumption sat around 22kWh per 100 kilometres, which translates to roughly 350km on a single charge. These figures are likely to improve in warmer weather, but rivals like the Skoda Enyaq 85 (573km WLTP) and Tesla Model Y long range, rear wheel drive (622km WLTP) will likely get you further on a single charge.

Driving the Kia EV5

On the road the Kia EV5 is very smooth and comfortable to drive. There’s 217hp through the front wheels, with 0-100km/h completed in 8.4 seconds. The handling is solid and predictable without being exciting in any way. But as a family SUV, you just can’t argue with how this drives because the comfort and refinement are so good. There are a few drive modes you can alter from a button on the steering wheel and paddles for the regenerative braking, including a full one-pedal drive mode.

Kia EV5 Charging

The EV5 doesn’t get the EV9’s ultra-rapid, 800-volt charging but it can still manage up to 150kW DC for a 10-80% charge in about 30 minutes. 11kW AC is included as well as vehicle-to-load, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home charging on all but the base model.

Kia EV5 Price

The EV5 starts from €47,625 for the Earth 2, from €49,800 for the Earth 3 and from €54,000 for the GT Line.

Verdict

The new EV5 excels as a family SUV for the comfort, space and equipment levels it offers. While some rivals will get you further on a single battery charge and feel a bit posher inside, the EV5’s bold styling and family-friendly design make it impossible to ignore.